


Stairs Talk

by frustratedpker



Category: Disney Duck Universe, Disney Ducks (Comics), PKNA - Paperinik New Adventures
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Identity Reveal, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27574486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frustratedpker/pseuds/frustratedpker
Summary: Camera 9 and Lyla accidentally bump into one another in an abandoned stairway while trying to take a breath from Chanel 00's rush hour
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	Stairs Talk

**12: 10.** She had to find a secluded an quiet spot immediately.

What Lyla was feeling at the moment was the droid equivalent of a really bad headache. But how could she have damaged her circuit? It didn't matter, it was just a little overloading accident. Chanel 00 wasn't the best place to be that day.

The main office room was cramped, full of journalists and reporters who talked and shouted loudly over each other with the telephones ringing and no one available or willing to pick them up. The errand boys were carrying stocks of unopened letters and occasionally collided with the running supervisors who ended up spilling their coffee all over the desks and mail. All you could hear was yelling, exasperated shouts, cursing and furious scolding. The odds of an armed bank robbery, a scientific breakthrough and the disappearance of the “Anxieties” main actor all happening in the shame day was one in a million. Still, not impossible as the day had proved!

Lyla saw Angus furiously fighting with poor Donald on the corridor, but she couldn't help this time. All the noise and constant movement in the room made it really difficult for her to navigate her way through the chaos. Even more difficult given the fact that half her circuit was malfunctioning.

Thankfully, there was no danger or need to worry. All she had to do was find a secure spot so her system could repair by itself the damage.

According to her sensors, the next corridor was empty.

Lyla found herself in the empty hallway. Her audio system could still pick up the noise from the offices, more muffled though but still existent. She would prefer a more quite environment to do her job. The more the stimuli, the longer it would take for her circuit to repair.

A couple of options flashed through her mind. The bathrooms: **negative**. Too many people would come and go, probably willing to chat. She would also have to invent an excuse in order to not raise suspicion. **Location rejected**. The hallway: **negative**. Too much noise coming from the offices and too many people passing through. She would attract attention. **Location rejected**.

The sound of high heels approaching interrupted her analysis. She had to find a safe spot quickly. In a sudden burst of a brain wave, probably allowed by the repair of some of her data, she had an idea!

The semi-floor of Channel 00 had been for the last months deserted. The conference room located there was being renovated and access was denied. Lyla was sure that there would be no problem spending a few minutes there. There wasn't even need to get in the room. The stairway leading there provided an even better hiding spot. It was never used after all and the chances of bumping into someone were nonexistent. The perfect place for someone who wants to be left alone!

Lyla walked down the hallway avoiding anything that was happening around her. Voices, the buzzing of the printers and photocopiers, all would soon be over. She cautiously looked around and reached for the door's handle. Being sure that no one could see her, she quickly slipped into the quiet stairway, slamming the door shut behind her.

She leaned on the cold metallic surface and let a deep sigh escape her lips.

She was saved.

Lyla stayed in this position with her eyes shut for some moments. The sudden silence of the stairway seemed like a blessing to her overloaded system and the cold metal she could feel on her back and hands helped even more to lower the augmented temperature of her body. Finally! The repairing process could begin!

It was then when she was startled by a reluctant voice.

“Are you... okay?”

She immediately opened her eyes. On the stairs across her there was a young man she could not recognize. He looked worried but also uneasy as proved by his position: frozen mid-movement as if he originally wanted to flee up the stairs but -in either lack of time or by choice- had decided against it. Her visual system had not spotted him upon entering the place.

“I am sorry if I startled you”, the man said making Lyla realize that she ought to have answered his question some seconds ago.

She had to resolve this. It was most urgent to repair her circuit, process that could only be done in a calm and lonely place, with the location she was currently at being the best option. She wasn't alone though. She knew that going back to the hallway to find another spot would only cause further damage but reacting to rules of basic human courtesy, her hand had already reached for the door handle.

“You can stay if you want”, the man informed her.

Lyla looked at him once more. He now seemed more relaxed, having resumed his -allegedly- former position, seated on the bottom of the stairs. He wasn't looking at her but rather staring absentmindedly straight to the wall in front of him.

She could not exactly tell why, but this atmosphere made her feel safer. His presence didn't remove any of the significant elements that had made her choose this place for her circuit's repair and plus, he didn't mind her being there. She couldn't waste this chance. She promptly sat down in the first steps of the stairs going down.

“Thank you”, she felt obliged to mutter, although she perceived nothing but a blur.

A few moments passed in blessing silence. Lyla could feel herself healing by the second. At least her head wasn't hurting anymore and her breathing simulator functioned properly. She opened her eyes again. Her unexpected friend was still there, immersed in his thoughts.

She felt very grateful to him for letting her stay. She had met a lot of people in her time in the 21st century to understand that compassion was rare. Surely someone seated in an empty stairway during the Chanel's rush hour didn't exactly want to have company. He had let her stay though. Now that she could think more clearly, she took another look at him.

No, she definitely had never met him before. She would remember. No matching visual representation could be found in her database. A young man of average height and weight with short, brown hair. No match.

“Are you feeling any better?”, he asked Lyla upon sensing her gaze on him.

At first, she thought that her damaged system was tricking her. She recognized that voice! Now that her head was more clear she immediately made the connection. She had heard it a thousand times before! She was perplexed, but there was no doubt. A quick glance at his feet where she could clearly see the typical helmet worn by the Chanel's cameramen fully proved her point.

“Camera 9?”, she asked amazed, her eyes widened in surprise.

Camera 9 nodded with a polite smile.

“Are you ok?”, he asked again, refusing to overlook her condition.

“Yes, I now am”, Lyla replied. “Thank you for letting me stay”.

Camera 9 lifted his shoulders with a feint smile, content with her answer.

“It was nothing”, he said. “It's a public staircase anyway”.

Lyla had forgotten about his subtle sense of humor. She had always felt quite privileged when at their scoops she was the only one able to pick up the snarky comments he muttered under his breath.

She smiled and he did too. It was far better without his helmet. For example, she could see that he had dimples.

It was strange. He looked young but his eyes where heavy with the weight of experiences she couldn't imagine His intelligent, brown with some green hues eyes. She had never noticed.

Lyla wondered how it had never occurred to her to scan him. It was childishly simple for her to see through his helmet. She had never tried it though. She had never felt like it was something _worth_ doing. Now that she could clearly see for the first time his -surprisingly- modern haircut, his curious eyes, his gaze leaving nothing unobserved, she felt guilty. She had _looked_ at him before but never _seen_ him. Plus, the only beings whom she never felt the need to scan were her people, _droids_. This didn't moderate her guilt. She was so used to him just _being_ there, doing his job, functioning as precisely as a swiss clock that she had forgotten that under his helmet he was still human. A human with a life, feelings, ambitions... She was shocked to realize that she had perceived him the same way humans perceived droids. She felt disgusted with herself. She had terribly misjudged Camera 9.

In any other case, she would be happy that she was able to feel such a genuine human emotion. But not now. She promised herself to never make the same mistake again. She was sure that Camera 9 didn't have a happier reason than her for being there. By concern -and curiosity- she wondered which was the most appropriate way to bring up this topic.

“Bad day?”, she asked upon deciding that an indirect way was the best approach.

Camera 9 chuckled.

“As good as yours”, he replied, his eyes still gazing at the void. “Angus wanted to report the bank robbery and was looking for a cameraman. I really didn't feel like hearing a rant about how the Duck Avenger's bunny slippers or something controlled the city's underworld”, he added.

Lyla couldn't hide a smile, although she felt that Camera 9 was barely scratching the surface of his problems.

“Oh, poor Angus!”, she exclaimed. “He must be desperate!”.

“Considering that I was the only cameraman available”.

Lyla laughed picturing her colleague's fury.

“Today's been crazy”, she admitted.

“You 're free to stay here if you want to”.

Lyla didn't know what to say. She had suddenly found herself walking a strange, thin line of intimacy. She nodded in recognition but felt unable to continue the conversation. She was under the impression that she had stumbled onto something big. The mood in the room indicated so.

_Two people full of secrets, deep down aching to reveal them, but held back by invisible ropes._

“Sometimes the world is just too much”, Camera 9 said closing his eyes and tilting back his head.

Lyla agreed. She knew the feeling very well.

“Is that why you're hiding in a deserted stairway?”, she dared ask him. Not polite at all but she was suddenly too curious about someone who until moments ago thought she knew.

“Interesting choice of words from someone who is doing the same”, was Camera 9's serene answer. “Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone”, he added reassuringly seeing her unable to find a proper answer.

Lyla understood very well that this wasn't about her. It was about him. She knew that Camera 9 was aware of her popularity in the office that subsequently allowed her a certain freedom to “slack off” at times. He hadn't said that to reassure her but rather _invite_ her to do the same for him. He was projecting his own fear onto her. The slightest implication that a nameless cameraman wasn't doing his job would surely get him fired. Very ingenious. He was trying to _protect_ himself.

Of course Lyla would never rat him out. He was too kind and good at his job for that. It wasn't even her business if he preferred to spend his breaks at an empty stairway. She was sure that hanging out there was a common practice for him. Otherwise he wouldn't seem so at ease or feel entitled to allow -or deny- her presence there. Lyla pictured him sitting on the stairs alone and eating a badly made sandwich. She felt very sorry that the world had brought him to this point.

**Auto-repair: completed.**

Lyla felt her circuits work regularly again. What a relief. She could sense that the noise had quieten in the offices and most of the people had calmed down. She should go back out there. She still had this report on the robbery to get done.

Lyla stood up, Camera 9's gaze following her.

“I'd better go back out there, there's much work to do”, she excused herself.

Camera 9's expression was hard to read.

“Don't worry, no one will know that you 're here”, she added and he immediately, despite his effort to hide it, looked relieved.

She stood there for some moments trying to find something to say. She still wanted to say so much. To _ask_. She had been shown such kindness in these past 15 minutes. He had let her heal herself after all. He had let her heal herself while he was trying to heal _himself_. She knew how hard that was. To accept someone by your side and provide comfort when you are already in pain. She was grateful. And honored.

“Thank you Camera 9”, she said in a soft tone.

“Stefan”.

Lyla was astonished. Yes, she had understood well, there was no doubt. Camera 9 had given her his name. She didn't know anyone else calling him with his actual name. Anyone, _knowing_ his actual name.

“Out there”, he said, his eyes darting to the door, “I'm still Camera 9. In here”, he paused, “I can be Stefan”.

She knew what he meant. That she wasn't to call him by his real name anywhere else. Giving his name wasn't an introduction. It was a gift. Lyla felt deeply moved. He _trusted_ her. She of all people knew very well the importance of trust.

“Thank you Stefan”, she said meaning it with all her heart.

Once again Stefan lifted his shoulders.

**12:36**. She had to go.

She glanced one last time over her shoulder, at Stefan, before reaching for the door handle. The light bursting from the small opening seemed blinding after the cool and dark stairway. The sudden noise of the offices welcomed her back to reality as the closing door obscured from her vision Stefan's melancholic smile.

She wouldn't betray him.

**Author's Note:**

> The mention of the "Anxieties" actor's disappearence is more of a simple reference and less of a timeline indicator. I imagined this scene taking place later during the main saga (maybe around the episode "Day of the black sun").
> 
> As you may have already realized I suck at naming fics. I would rather like the title being more poetic but this was all I could think of.


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